"Rio works well as a backdrop...a footrace across rooftops and down alleyways of a hillside shantytown is one of the most visually riveting action sequences in recent memory."
Los Angeles Times

4 stars out of 5 -- "[W]ith some of the most exhilarating action sequences the screen has seen in years."
Box Office

3 stars out of 4 -- "[I]t's Lin's elaborately planned and eye-popping automobile stunts - which avoid artificial-looking CGI whenever possible -- that butter this movie's bread."
Washington Post

3 stars out of 5 -- "Lin knows his crowd. A visit to Rio's street-racing scene shows he hasn't forgotten the franchise's origins..."
Total Film

"Lin, as he showed in TOKYO DRIFT, does have a knack for poetic images....Lin also keeps the movie's plot intricacies clicking along at a reasonable pace."
Movieline

"[D]irector Justin Lin and his editors have honed a very decent clutch of fights, chases and gun battles..."
Sight and Sound

3 stars out of 4 -- "The movie is made of sheer, preposterous and nonstop impossible action....A skillfully assembled 130 minutes at the movies..."
Chicago Sun-Times

"Inventive action sequences, deft stunt work and breathtaking cinematography make for revved-up fun."
USA Today